BLUBBER AND SONG 207 



" O whiskey is the life of man/* 



And the sailors as they heaved would chorus: 



** O whiskey^ O Johnny. 



0 whiskey is the life of man. 

 Whiskey for the Johnnies." 



Then Gabriel would sing: 



" Whiskey killed my poor old dad. 

 Whiskey drove my mother mad. 

 Whiskey caused me much abuse. 

 Whiskey put me in the calaboose. 

 Whiskey fills a man with care, 

 Whiskey makes a man a bear." 



And the men would come through with the 

 refrain: 



"Whiskey, Johnny. 



1 drink whiskey when I can. 

 O whiskey for the Johnnies." 



At the end of our song which ran through 

 verses enough to bring a blanket piece of blub- 

 ber swinging inboard, we would look wistfully 

 toward the quarter-deck and wonder if the " old 

 man " would take our musical hint. 



Or Gabriel would start up " Rolling Rio " : 



" I'll sing you a song of the fish of the sea." 



The men would thunder: 



" Rolling Rio." 



Gabriel would continue: 



**As I was going down Broadway Street 



